Quit Breaking My Heart
by Acting-Singing-Bella
Summary: Gabriella and Troy are married with a beautiful daughter. Troy hasn’t been there for Gabriella since he got his basketball career. They make plans to go on a cruise, but will their marriage last when Troy has to go on a basketball tour?


**Quit Breaking My Heart**

**Author's Note: ****always got them! Anyway, I have made a new story here…and also for those of you who had read my last story called 'A Cinderella Story' I was wondering if you guys would know what I could do for a sequel…anyway enough of that, please read and review my story please!! I may have a few more stories come out so if you want me to write a story and have recommendations, tell me about it!**

**Summary: ****Gabriella and Troy are married with a beautiful daughter. Troy hasn't been there for Gabriella since he got his basketball career. They make plans to go on a cruise, but will their marriage last when Troy has to go on a basketball tour? Will Troy choose success and rise to the top, but end up leaving his family behind?**

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"Mommy, I can't find my teddy bear!" three year old Adriana Bolton exclaimed as she was packing her suitcase with her twenty-eight year old mother, Gabriella Bolton. It was the first of December and they both could feel the frostiness from outside the window. Gabriella looked at her daughter and then looked at her daughter's suitcase. Gabriella didn't even see clothes or socks in the suitcase; she only saw dolls, toy blocks and at least five different toy animals. Gabriella smiled and then chuckled to herself. She remembered being her daughter's age and always only packing toys instead of clothes. She remembered giving her mother such a hard time about it; it was always only Gabriella and her mother so she always knew that her mother would say yes to her no matter what. Gabriella looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, I don't know Adriana…you do have a lot of toys…I don't know if you should bring another one." Gabriella jokingly told her daughter.

"Mommy, please! I'll bring a small suitcase for my clothes if I can just bring teddy. Please mommy!" Adriana begged. Gabriella smiled at her daughter.

Gabriella and her husband, Troy Bolton got married when they were both twenty-four years old. Gabriella became pregnant a year later with Adriana. Gabriella and Troy both felt like they had a great family. Gabriella was already an editor at a magazine company and Troy became a basketball star and a successful captain of the unbeatable basketball team. Everything seemed to have been perfect…until Troy became well-known in the public eye. Due to Troy becoming the captain and his father being the coach of the basketball team, Troy was always working and hardly ever home. Gabriella always worked too, but she at least made time for their family and was home to let her daughter get to know who she was.

Gabriella was about to give up hope on Troy ever being home, until Troy told her that he arranged for them to go on a cruise. They would be on their cruise until New Years. Gabriella was rapturous when Troy told her that they were going on a cruise. She had never been on a cruise and thought that it was great that she had all that time to have Troy to herself. When he told her that they would be going on the cruise no matter what, she forgot about all the antagonism she had that he was never home and was over the moon. She hoped that she would make Troy stop stare when he would see her in her little bikini.

"Okay Adriana you can bring teddy. He's in your toy bin in the corner." Gabriella said, pointing to Adriana's toy bin.

"Thank you mommy!" Adriana exclaimed as she ran and grabbed her teddy bear.

"Now while you finish packing your clothes, I'm going to go and see what daddy is doing. Call me if you need me alright honey?" Gabriella asked as she left the room. Adriana nodded her head and she began to start packing her clothes. Gabriella smiled as she walked down the stairs and saw her husband in the kitchen checking his pager. Gabriella sighed to herself. She prayed and hoped that the whole cruise wouldn't be about Troy checking his pager the whole time. Running a hand through her long raven hair, she finished walking down the rest of her stairs and she made her way over to her husband, hoping that he would put his pager away.

"Hi honey." Gabriella said sweetly, walking towards Troy. Troy spun around and he smiled at her.

"Hey Gabriella." Troy said casually, looking back at his pager. Hiding her angered frustration, she walked right in front of Troy and she leaned up against the kitchen counter, crossing her arms across her chest. She was not ready to spend her precious time she had with Troy watching him check his pager.

"Well that's a nice way to greet your wife." Gabriella told him, exasperation clearly in her voice. Troy got her message clearly and looked up at her quickly.

"I'm sorry Gabriella; just give me one more minute." Troy told her as he checked the last message on his pager. Gabriella rolled her eyes when Troy looked away from her. It was not fair to her at all. She didn't want to go on this cruise if Troy's pager was only going to catch his attention. Gabriella almost sighed with relief when she saw Troy put the pager into the pockets of his jeans. Once his pager was in his pocket, Troy looked at his wife and he grinned as he snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her in closer to him.

"Now that that's been put away…I think I should greet my lovely wife properly." Troy said in a husky voice as he pulled Gabriella in closer and they gently kissed each other. Even after four years of marriage and having one child together, they still were in love with each other. As their lips parted, Gabriella looked into her husband's cobalt eyes and smiled softly.

"I think you should greet me like that more often." Gabriella told him just above a whisper. Troy smiled weakly as he pushed a stray hair behind Gabriella's ear. He didn't even have to ask Gabriella; he always knew that she went to bed crying because he was never there to give her some affection.

"Gabriella, believe me when I say this. Nothing is going to stop me from greeting you like that. By the end of this cruise, you are going to be so sick of me always being there." Troy said with a wink. Gabriella grinned and she wrapped an arm around his neck and she gently pulled him into her. They were both silent as their foreheads connected.

"I could never be sick of you Troy." Gabriella whispered to him as she pecked Troy's lips gently. Troy smiled against her smooth and perfect lips. If there was ever a contest for the best wife, he knew that Gabriella would win, without a doubt.

"Good." Troy mumbled against her lips as he raised a hand and he gently cupped her cheek into his hand, caressing her cheek in round motions. Gabriella smiled against his lips and continued to pull him into her. Maybe they should go on cruises more often. Just when Gabriella thought that she would die without the feel of troy's lips against hers and his hand against her cheek, she heard Troy's cell phone go off. They both let go of each other and Troy ran to the kitchen counter and he grabbed his cell phone and he answered it. Gabriella bit her lip and she just walked towards the stairs to go see how Adriana was doing, but then she soon heard Troy's conversation, with who ended up being his father.

"Hello…dad listen I can't talk I…what? What are you talking about dad? No dad I…dad I can't do this basketball tour I am going on a cruise with…dad I have spent absolutely no time with my wife and my daughter I…dad!" Troy began to argue into the phone. Gabriella turned around completely and she became interested with this conversation. But something also told her that she was going to end up in tears.

"Dad you can not fire me because I am spending time with my family…dad why are you doing this to me and my family?! I won't even be home for Christmas if I go! I can't go dad; I told you that already…wait, you sent Cordell to get me? And he's here…dad what is…I can't believe that you would do this to me dad. See you then, bye." Troy bitterly said as he angrily shut off his cell phone. Troy stared at the floor and then his eyes wandered to his wife who stood there with tears beginning to build up in her eyes. He didn't even have to tell her; she already knew.

"Gabriella…" Troy began to say but Gabriella turned on her heels and she ran up the stairs, away from Troy.

Troy followed after her and he walked into their bedroom and found Gabriella crying on the edge of the bed. Troy sighed with regret. He knew that she was heartbroken that they wouldn't go on the cruise as a family. Taking in a deep breath, Troy walked into the room and shut the door. He walked to the bed and he sat down beside his wife who refused to look at him. Troy was immediately filled with guilt. He shouldn't have given in to his father. He should've just let his father fire him from the team. Troy gently placed a hand on his wife's back. She did not deserve this at all.

"Gabriella, I am so sorry. I swear this is not fair to you at all." Troy told her, praying and hoping that she would just say something. Gabriella looked up at him, her tearful red eyes almost killing him.

"How could you do this to me Troy? How could you do this to Adriana? The one time I think that we can finally be a family and I don't have to go to sleep wondering when I'll see my husband for more than two minutes, your father just takes you away from me." Gabriella cried out. Troy began to gently shush her as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I know Gabriella, it's not fair. He shouldn't do this to us. He knew that we had this cruise planned out." Troy told. Gabriella looked at him angrily and she threw his arm off from around her.

"But it wasn't like you were fighting to not go on this basketball tour Troy! You gave in! You didn't even bother to fight. You just let your father tell you that you should be on the court and not with your wife and your daughter, who knows absolutely nothing about you! Troy, you're breaking my heart." Gabriella said, feeling herself begin to sob violently. Troy shook his head, fighting off tears of his own and he firmly held her hand, fearing that if he let go, he would lose his wife forever.

"Gabriella, please don't say that. Please, we can make this work." Troy desperately pleaded. With tears continuously streaking down her cheeks, Gabriella shook her head and she freed her hand from his grasp and she got up from the bed. She had her back towards him as she kept sobbing.

"No we can't Troy. You keep promising me that nothing will interrupt us from being together as a family, but then you always have to go play a game. And I'm tired of always being here waiting for you to just realize that something great is staring you in the face. My heart breaks every time you walk out that door…and it looks like its going to break again." Gabriella choked out between her sobs. Troy got up from the bed and stood in front of her. He raised both of her hands and he cupped her cheeks in his hands and made her look at him. Troy was fighting off his own tears as he tried to talk to his wife.

"Gabriella, please I can change. I won't go on this tour." Troy told her, feeling himself shake as he caressed her cheeks. Gabriella let more tears fall from her eyes which Troy brushed away with his thumbs. Gabriella shook her head. Her heart hurt too much to even consider believing another one of Troy's promises. Taking his hands off her face, Gabriella backed away from him.

"Get out Troy." Gabriella cruelly told him. Troy blinked in surprise. Did Gabriella just tell him to get out?

"What?" Troy asked, dumbfounded.

"It's obvious that Adriana and I can never be a part of your basketball world so just go Troy. Just make it happen. But when you're out there on the basketball court, winning all those games with all those fans cheering you on, I hope you think about the two most important people in your life who aren't there with you." Gabriella effectively told him, her heartbreaking words hurting them both. Troy just stood there, staring at her. He wished that she didn't have to suffer. She and Adriana didn't deserve this. They deserved the best of everything. Troy knew that there was nothing he could do; Gabriella wouldn't want to go on the cruise with him now that she was anger with him. Troy sighed as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I really am sorry about this Gabriella." Troy told her. Gabriella looked down at the floor and she let another tear fall from her eyes as she shook her head.

"No you're not." Gabriella told him. Troy bit his lip and he began to walk towards the door, but then he stopped and turned back to his wife.

"I love you." Troy told her, hoping that would make a difference. But it didn't.

"Sure you do." Gabriella mumbled out. Breaking his heart even more, Troy let a single tear drip down his face and he walked out of the room and took a few minutes to talk to Adriana and then, after hearing Adriana cry in the next room, Troy left. Hearing the front door close, Gabriella fell to her knees and she sobbed into her hands. Walking out that door was a simple action, yet it was a lot to smash Gabriella's heart into pieces. Now Gabriella didn't know if her marriage was going to make it to New Years.

_**Two hours later…**_

Gabriella walked by her daughter's room and she looked into the room and saw that Adriana was asleep on the floor. Gabriella sighed as she walked into the room and she picked her up and placed her on the bed. Gabriella looked a little closer and saw tear stains on her gorgeous daughter's cheeks. It was obvious that Gabriella wasn't the only one crying about Troy leaving. Draping a blanket over her daughter, Gabriella kissed her gently and then she walked out of the room and walked down the stairs and into the empty living room and she picked up her phone. She had to talk to Sharpay. She needed someone to comfort her. Gabriella dialed the number and she stretched out across the couch, listening to the ringing sound of the phone. Finally, Sharpay answered the phone.

"Hello?" Sharpay answered. Gabriella sighed and replied back.

"Hey Sharpay it's me." Gabriella said; her voice very depressed sounding and monotonous. Sharpay knew just by the tone of her voice that something was wrong.

"Gabriella what's wrong?" Sharpay asked; her voice full of concern. Holding back tears, Gabriella told her what happened.

"Troy, Adriana and I were supposed to be on a cruise right now. We were supposed to be on the cruise and come back New Years day. But then Troy's father called Troy and told him that he had to leave for a basketball tour and he wouldn't be back until after New Years. And Troy left. He left again Sharpay." Gabriella told Sharpay, her eyes welling up with more tears.

"Oh Gabriella, I am so sorry to hear that. Troy is a jerk for choosing basketball over you and Adriana." Sharpay told her best friend. Gabriella wiped away the tear that slipped down her cheek and she sighed.

"Yeah I guess. I should've seen what was coming when I married him. I mean, we married so young." Gabriella said with a sigh.

"Gabriella, age is nothing but a number. Zeke and I were the same age when we got married and five months later I was pregnant with Egan. And we're both fine. And I know that you and Troy will be fine too." Sharpay said, trying her hardest to comfort her best friend.

"But your situation is different than ours Sharpay. You and Zeke work together. You both own a company together. You both can be a family together and make time for Egan. Troy and I can't. I don't even know how much longer this marriage is going to last." Gabriella said, the thought of their marriage ending scaring her.

"Gabriella, don't start talking like that! You and Troy are going to be great. Troy knows how important you and Adriana are and he will come back to his senses and he will come back home. Just have faith that he will be back for you." Sharpay told her, the truth spitting from her voice.

"Sharpay, you don't get it. I don't know how much longer my heart can wait for him. I have always been left waiting for him." Gabriella told her, having flashbacks of all the times she watched Troy walk out the door on her.

"Honey, I know that its hard just watching him leave over and over again, but you have a child together. You are both married. You have to think about how your decisions will benefit Adriana and have to sort through these problems as a couple. I'm not telling you to just stand there and not say how you feel, but you have to do what's right for all of you." Sharpay told her like a true best friend would. Gabriella grew silent. She knew that Sharpay was right. She had to talk to Troy about this more. And Gabriella knew deep down that there were other things that she wasn't telling Troy.

"Okay Sharpay. I promise that the minute Troy walks in through that door…I'm going to tell him everything. I'm going to tell him how I feel. And nothing is going to hold me back." Gabriella told Sharpay through her tears.

"I'm so proud of you Gabriella. You tell him girl. Listen, I got to run; I promised Egan I would take him Christmas shopping for Zeke. Egan saw this cute baker's hat that Zeke would like so I'm taking him out to buy it." Sharpay explained to Gabriella. Gabriella smiled weakly. She was becoming green with envy at how close Sharpay's family was.

"Okay you two have fun." Gabriella managed to say.

"And Gabriella, if you ever want to have some time alone, I don't mind having Adriana here at all. After all, she is my goddaughter." Sharpay said pompously. Gabriella stifled out a laugh and nodded her head.

"Okay that sounds fine to me. And the same goes for you. I'll call you tomorrow." Gabriella said as she hung up the phone. Placing the phone gently on the counter, Gabriella soon found that she was overwhelmed with exhaustion. She assumed that crying a lot could do that to a person. Sighing tiredly, Gabriella got herself comfortable and began to close her eyes. Even though she was angered and hurt, she went to sleep thinking about all the precious and tender moments she shared with Troy. She went to bed thinking that she would only feel affection from Troy in her dreams and every moment she spent longing for him.

_**10:55 pm, December 24…**_

"Mommy, do you think Santa will like the cookies that I made for him?" Adriana asked as her mother put the homemade sugar bread cookies on a Santa shaped plate. Gabriella picked up a candy cane shaped cookie and she took a bite out of it. As she chewed on the cookie, she smiled at her daughter.

"If I can't stop eating all the cookies, then I think that Santa will love your cookies Adriana." Gabriella truthfully told her. Adriana smiled and she ran to the fridge and pulled out the carton of milk and grabbed a glass. She began to pour the milk, but found that she was spilling it. Gabriella ran over and helped her pour the milk.

"Here sweetie, let me do that." Gabriella kindly offered as she poured the creamy colored milk into the glass. Placing the plate and the glass on the kitchen counter, the mother and daughter declared themselves ready for Santa to come. Picking up her daughter, Gabriella walked up the stairs and headed towards Adriana's room. It was late for the adorable three-year old and Gabriella didn't want her to be miserable on Christmas morning. Opening up her door, Gabriella waltzed into her bedroom and placed her onto her bed. Getting onto her knees beside Adriana's bed, Gabriella looked into Adriana's cerulean eyes and realized that she had the eyes of her father. She had her father's eyes, but she looked almost identical to her. Gabriella smiled as she pushed back her daughter's hair.

"Get some sleep okay princess. Santa won't come unless you're asleep." Gabriella told her in a singsong voice. Adriana nodded her head and she stared into her mother's eyes.

"Do you miss daddy, mommy?" Adriana abruptly asked her mother. Gabriella blinked in utter surprise. That was the first time since Troy left that Adriana asked her about Troy. Gabriella bit her lip and she nodded her head.

"Yes I do miss him Adriana. Do you miss daddy?" Gabriella asked in return. A sad expression upon her face, Adriana nodded her head.

"I wish daddy would be here for Christmas. I wish grandpa didn't send him away from us and that we could've gone on that cruise. I wish daddy would be here for Christmas; it's not fair!" Adriana sadly exclaimed, trying her hardest not to weep. Gabriella sighed and she held her daughter's hand.

"I know its not fair honey. But don't let grandpa's unfair actions ruin our Christmas. We'll have fun together. Now get some sleep. I love you." Gabriella told Adriana as she kissed her cheek and walked out of her bedroom and shutting the door.

Once she shut the door, Gabriella walked back downstairs and she sat herself down on the couch and she picked up the clicker and turned on the TV. Nothing good was on; nothing but romantic dramas and a bunch of Christmas movies and shows. Sighing in frustration, Gabriella turned the television off and she stretched herself out across the couch and just stared at the ceiling. To Gabriella, it didn't feel like Christmas. Gabriella didn't feel the magic of Christmas. She knew exactly why that was; it was going to be her first Christmas without Troy. Even though he was always at the basketball court, he always made time to spend Christmas with Gabriella and Adriana. It didn't feel the same without Troy there.

Gabriella remembered the Christmas when she gave Troy the best gift ever. She told him she was pregnant on Christmas day. She remembered that morning perfectly. She remembered Troy wearing nothing but his dark blue boxers and she wore her light pink negligee. They sat around the Christmas tree and opened each other's gifts. Once they opened their last gift, Troy was about to get ready and make Christmas breakfast, but Gabriella told him not to because she had one more gift for him. She handed him a box and told him to open it. When he opened it he found a pregnancy test that said she was pregnant. Gabriella remembered the way Troy smiled that day. She remembered how safe she felt when she was in his arms. She remembered thinking she would always come home to a happy family.

Gabriella shook away those foolish thoughts and she got up from the couch and she began to get Adriana's gifts ready for Christmas. She had bought Adriana a big toy doll that she had wanted for a long time and she got her a big pink doll house. Gabriella had bought these gifts a little while ago. She and Sharpay both went Christmas shopping for Egan and Adriana. When she saw the doll and the doll house, Sharpay told Gabriella that Adriana said she wanted it. So Gabriella bought the doll and the doll house. Adriana could have something else that she could play with. Once she set up all the gifts, Gabriella realized how tired she was. She was so tired that she didn't have the energy to go upstairs, get out of her clothes and sleep in her bed. With a yawn, Gabriella walked over to the couch, grabbed the green colored blanket and she draped it over her petite body. With a final yawn, Gabriella closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

_**3:00 am December 25…**_

The sound of the front door opening began to awaken Gabriella. Gabriella ignored it and thought that she was just dreaming or hallucinating. As she tried to fall back asleep, she sensed someone in the kitchen, getting something from the fridge and pouring it into a glass. Gabriella's eyes shot right open in fear. Was there a burglar in the house? Gabriella bit her lip with fear and she slowly got herself off the couch and she tiptoed into the kitchen and she saw a man in a tuxedo pouring himself a glass of scotch. Gabriella couldn't see the man's face; his back was facing her. Gabriella bit her lip and she walked further into the kitchen. The man heard her footsteps and he spun around to look at Gabriella. Gabriella's eyes widened at who she saw. It was Troy.

"Troy?" Gabriella asked in shock, making sure her eyes weren't tricking her. Troy took a sip of his scotch and he smiled weakly at her.

"Yeah it's me." Troy told her. Gabriella stood in her spot and just watched Troy as he drank the rest of his scotch. He wasn't supposed to be back. He was supposed to be on that basketball tour that ruined their plans to go on a cruise.

"Why are you here Troy? Aren't you supposed to be on the basketball court with your team?" Gabriella maliciously asked Troy. Troy sighed as he put down his glass of scotch and he walked over to Gabriella and he placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"Gabriella, please understand how sorry I am. I could hate my father right now because of what he did. He knew that you were excited for this trip and he ruined it. And it was especially unfair to Adriana." Troy pleaded with his wife. Gabriella shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears from escaping her eyes.

"But you didn't even fight back Troy. You just obeyed your father!" Gabriella told him, wishing that she didn't sound so selfish.

"I know Gabriella; I wish I didn't give in to him. I should've stayed strong." Troy said to his wife, seeing the tears building up in her eyes. Gabriella shook Troy's hands off her shoulders and she walked back to her couch and she sat down and cried into her hands. She knew that she had to cry, but she didn't want Troy to see her cry. She sensed him sit down beside her and he could feel him watching at her. Troy raised a hand and he continuously ran a hand down her back, hoping to soothe her.

"Gabriella, please…talk to me. As husband and wife, we have to communicate to each other. Please talk to me." Troy said, almost begging. Gabriella slowly lifted her face from her hands and she turned to look at the man she called her husband. He was right; she had to converse with him if she wanted this marriage to work.

"You have no idea what it's like Troy. All my life, I have been hurt by not having a father figure there for me. My father left the day after I was born. Do you know how that has made me feel? He left me. And before you, I had boyfriends that left me. And now…you're beginning to." Gabriella said, her tears beginning to choke her. She knew that she had to tell Troy…but it hurt so much to tell him.

Troy cupped Gabriella's cheek into his hand and made her look at him. When they made eye contact, Troy saw her red and pained eyes that almost made him break down crying as well. But now, Troy had to stay strong. He had to fight for his wife and child. As he gazed lovingly into her chocolate eyes, his thumb gently and lovingly caressed her cheek, smoothly brushing away her tears. Even though she was crying, she looked tired and was wearing her blue jeans and a plain scarlet shirt; she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His thumb still caressing her cheek gently, Troy rested his forehead against her own.

"Gabriella, I could never leave you. I know that you had to live your life without knowing who your father was and that you had a few broken hearts, but I will always be there to protect you. I will never leave you. You and Adriana are the most important things in my life. Every time I walk out that door, the only thing I can think is 'how can I keep walking out this door when I know that there are two people who I love dearly whose hearts are breaking?' I always think to myself…why is basketball so important? Why am I here shooting hoops when I should be at home watching my daughter grow up?" Troy asked, lazily caressing his wife's cheek.

"If I have made you feel guilty, I am so sorry. This is your job and I should support you." Gabriella told Troy, moving into the feel of his hand against her cheek. Troy let a small smile grow across his face and he shook his head, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Gabriella…I quit the team."

"What?"

"I wanted to quit for a while. And…my father wanted me to go on another tour and not come home…so I left. I wasn't going to let it just destroy my family. I should've realized a long time ago that you and Adriana were the people I should've been with." Troy told her, tenderly caressing her cheeks. Gabriella smiled through her tears and she placed a hand on Troy's hand that cradled her cheek. For the first time since she last saw him, she felt like she had her husband back.

"I'm so sorry about before Troy. I love you so much." Gabriella told Troy, feeling like she couldn't survive without telling him. Not being able to stop caressing her cheek, Troy began to slowly move into her.

"I love you too…and I think I should tell you that more often." Troy whispered to her as he captured her lips with his own.

Troy gently brushed his lips against her lips and he raised his other hand to cup her other cheek into his hand. As Troy caressed both her cheeks in circular motions, Gabriella placed both her hands on his broad and muscular chest and pulled on his collar and brought him in closer to her. Troy's tongue entered Gabriella's mouth that waited for him and moaned as Troy's tongue explored her mouth. Now they were finally together again and Gabriella and Troy were making it count. Due to the lack of oxygen, their lips parted from each other and they just lovingly gazed into each other's eyes. Gabriella was the first to smile back at him. And for the first time in months, that was the first real smile she had ever had painted across her face.

"Let's go upstairs to bed." Gabriella whispered to him with a smile. Troy grinned and stroked both of her cheeks one last time before letting go.

"Let's go beautiful." Troy whispered back as he picked her up and safely carried her up the stairs. As Gabriella held onto him and felt her eyes grow heavy, Gabriella's Christmas wish had come true; Troy's basketball commitment would quit breaking her heart.

_**8:30 am Christmas morning…**_

"It's Christmas!" Adriana loudly screamed as she ran out of her room and ran down the stairs to see all the toys that Santa had given her. The sound of her loud scream of joy and her running down the stairs awoke Gabriella. Gabriella groaned tiredly but then smiled happily to herself when she found Troy's muscular arm wrapped around her petite waist. Gabriella turned on her side and saw that Troy was still asleep. Gabriella smiled to herself; Troy could sleep through anything. Turning on her right side completely, she kissed his Adam's apple and smirked as he awoke to her gentle touch. When his eyes were fully open, revealing his sapphire eyes, Gabriella smiled.

"Merry Christmas baby." Gabriella said just above a whisper. Troy grinned and pulled her in close to him.

"Merry Christmas beautiful." Troy said, capturing her lips in his quickly. When their lips parted, they stared into each other's eyes and grinned.

"We should get up; Christmas is for the family." Troy said as he slowly got out of bed and his wife followed him as they opened the door and walked down the stairs and found Adriana looking at all her gifts. For a moment, Troy just stood there and stared at Adriana. It was like he couldn't get over the fact that he almost missed out on watching Adriana grow up into a beautiful young girl. Troy let a smile grow across his face as he called for his daughter.

"Merry Christmas Adriana." Troy merrily said. Adriana, who didn't know that her father was home, spun around and smiled like she never smiled before.

"Daddy!" Adriana happily chimed as she ran to her father who opened up his arms and gave her the biggest bear hug he had ever given anyone. Gabriella watched as Troy and Adriana hugged each other. Gabriella could have been seeing things, but she could've sworn that she saw a tear fall from Troy's eye. Adriana soon let go of her father and she smiled happily at her dad. She didn't think that he would be home for Christmas.

"Are you staying here for Christmas daddy?" Adriana asked. Troy looked at his daughter and tightened his lips.

"Yeah but I won't be here tomorrow." Troy told her solemnly. Gabriela's heart stopped beating for a moment. Was he leaving again?

"Where are you going?" Gabriella asked, trying not to become angry.

"Gabriella, the real question is where _we_ are going." Troy told her with a wink.

"We?" Adriana asked. Troy grinned as he walked over to his briefcase that was placed on the kitchen counter and pulled out three tickets of some sort.

"Tomorrow, we are going on a cruise for an entire month. That is my Christmas gift for my two favorite girls." Troy happily declared, feeling proud of himself when he saw the happy smiles on their faces.

"We're going on a cruise!" Adriana happily exclaimed as she began to jump up and down happily. Gabriella walked over to her husband and she was instantly wrapped up in his arms and had a big bright smile on her face.

"I love you so much Troy." Gabriella whispered into his ear. Troy smiled as he ran a hand through her thick raven hair.

"I love you too Gabriella." Troy told her as his hand took hold of her cheek and kissed her lips gently. They ignored Adriana's 'yuck' comments and just kissed for another few moments before letting go and enjoying the rest of their Christmas. That Christmas was without a doubt the best and most memorable Christmas for the Bolton family.

**The End**

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_**Okay I know that it's not even near Christmas, but just bear with me here! Please read and review and if you have a sequel idea for A 'Cinderella Story', don't be afraid to tell me! Love you guys!**_

_**Acting-Singing-Bella**_


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